Chapter 4

Arielyn

“I told you to come stay with me, I honestly don’t know why you choose to put up with being ignored in that house, your father or your brothers do not deserve you, they don’t know what they are missing out by keeping you away from them, I want to be with you all the time, it is their loss,”

Rose said after I finished telling her what happened with my dad, I knew I shouldn’t have told her, I didn’t want her to feel guilty for bringing me back here but Rose was my best friend for a reason, I could never hide my feelings and emotions from her, she took one look at me and knew I wasn’t okay even when I told her I was so I had to tell her the truth, she talked about my brothers, I didn’t even meet them yet but I already know they would ignore me just like my dad did, they follow his lead.

“I don’t want to be a burden to you Rose, besides, I lived alone for eight years and I have been isolated all my life, trust me, my dad ignoring me is nothing,”

I said trying to make light of how I felt but it hurts.

“You are so stubborn but I will let you be, let’s forget about your crazy dad and have fun tonight, who knows, you might find someone among the hot men who grace the club, I am certain,”

She said but I highly doubted that, if I was into hot men, or if they were into me, I won’t still be a virgin at twenty-six, not everyone gets men and I was one of the unlucky ones.

“I don’t need a man, Rose, the last time I thought I needed a man, it ended poorly for me and I can’t go through such stress ever again, I am not cut out for the love stuff, not even from my family, it is what the moon goddess decided for me and I have accepted my fate,”

I said, it was painful how throughout my life I have never experienced what it was like to be loved, the only person who loves and cares for me is Rose and if not for her, I would have been totally isolated.

“Don’t think like that Ariel, I am sure the moon goddess has someone else for you, you haven’t found him or her yet doesn’t mean there is no one,”

Rose said holding my hands.

“Oh, I have found her, and she is sitting with me in this car, she loves me so much and I love her too,”

I said and I could feel my wolf roll her eyes.

“Flattered but you know that’s not what I mean,”

“I don’t know what you mean, I have the love of my life, and she is getting married soon, and she is supposed to make me forget my troubles tonight not make me talk about them,”

I said and Rose laughed.

“I am sorry, I won’t say anything again, let’s have fun tonight,”

“Of course,”

I answered as the car came to a stop.

“We are here,”

Rose said in excitement, this wasn’t my first time at a club but it was definitely my first at a club in Owhen, before I left, I wasn’t allowed out of the house unless I was going to Rose’s house and back then, Rose had been shielded by her parents so we never went to clubs or anywhere we were not supervised.

“Let’s go,”

Rose said pulling me out of the car, she gave the driver instructions and we left him there, we got to the entrance and presented our IDs, more like I gave my ID because the bouncer did not ask Rose for anything and it was obvious that Rose was a regular here, after checking my ID, we were let into the club, the air inside the clubhouse was warm and welcoming and loud music was blasting.m, everyone inside seem to be in a happy mood, there were people on the dance floor singing and dancing along with the DJ, while there were a few who were seated where chairs were arranged, Rose pulled me in the direction of the chairs.

“I will go get us our drinks, you can sit over there,”

Rose said loudly and I nodded looking around, there were a lot of young people here, most of which would be around our age but I didn’t know anyone, and no one seem to know me either, I saw a few of them stop Rose and say hi to her as she went to get our drinks but no one acknowledged me, what did I expect? I didn’t attend school with anyone, I only went on graduation day and faced the biggest disgrace ever on that day, I wasn’t able to make friends other than Rose and even if they know who I am, will they approach me? I don’t think so because I am pretty sure their moms and dads talked about me and my curse, a curse that I didn’t deserve.

“Stop with the pity party and party for real,”

My wolf warned. She was excited for the first time since we got here and I felt bad for ruining the mood.

“I am sorry, I will have fun,”

I said and smiled as Rose walked back to me holding two glasses containing alcohol, yup, I need alcohol to forget the events of today.

“And a man too, if you let us have one,”

Ae whispered.

“Alcohol yes, man, no,”

I responded.

“Are you having a conversation with your wolf here? Come on,”

Winrose said as she handed me the glass she held.

“Yup, she wants me to get laid,”

I answered taking a sip of the beer.

“She is right though,”

Winrose yelled over the music but I pretended not to hear what she said.

“I know you heard me, and I will keep pestering you until you find yourself a man,”

She yelled which got the attention of the guys who were at the table after us, my face heat up as they all directed their attention to me.

“Shut up Rose,”

I begged my best friend who smiled obviously happy she set me up, I politely smiled at the guys and took a big gulp of my beer.

“Wanna dance?”

Rose asked but I refused, I was a horrible dancer and would probably get chased out of the clubhouse if I decide to dance.

“You dance, I will watch and cheer you on, you know I can’t dance to save my life,”

I responded which got Rose laughing, her alcohol tolerance level was low and she easily gets tipsy so I won’t be surprised if just one gulp of beer got her drunk already.

“Sure,”

She said and off she went, I watched as she danced gracefully, and couldn’t deny the slight jealousy that settled in my stomach, there were a lot of things to be jealous of about Rose, she had her family, parents who loves her so much and would give their lives for her, her mate, who has been chasing her even before they turned eighteen and found out he was her mate, she could dance too, everything I didn’t have and would probably never have, the thought of how miserable my life is took the smile off my face and no matter how I tried to lighten up my mood, and no matter the amount of beer I took, it just couldn’t wash away the sadness that I have been carrying my whole life.

“Let’s dance Ariel, I will hold you,”

Rose invited as she came to drag me to the dance floor, I didn’t know what to do so I just let her play me around, I let go of my pain long enough for me to enjoy being turned around the dance floor, I kind of got used to it and was starting to have fun for real when someone came to us and asked Rose for a dance, I wanted to yell at him to leave her alone and tell him she was taken twice already but I let her go and took my sorry ass back to our seat, I walked to the bar and ordered another drink, came back to seat down and watched my best friend dance with different people, she was having so much fun and I wished I could loosen up too and be like her but our circumstances were different, people were easily attracted to her but not me, the curse was still there which is why people tends to ignore me, I couldn’t blame them too much, even I want to ignore myself sometimes.

If only my fate hadn’t been so bad, if only Jordan that bastard hadn’t rejected me, if only my mom didn’t die during my birth, if only my dad had forgiven me for unknowingly killing his wife, maybe my life would have been so much easier, maybe I would be more welcoming, the sadness that went away for only a little while came crushing back and I couldn’t help the frown that settled on my face, I suddenly wanted to go home to my bed and cry myself to sleep, but I couldn’t ditch Rose, not when she already looked drunk. Maybe I should take her advice and that of my Ae who has been silent and got laid, maybe I should, I looked around wondering if I would find anyone who would be interested but no one seem to be looking in my direction, my eyes went round the club and for a moment, I paused thinking I saw someone familiar, but on a second look, it didn’t seem like it, I took a gulp of my beer and just sat there, alone despite the people here, as I always have been.